I was extremely nervous too! I was basically auditioning for freelance training delivery; they wanted me to demonstrate my training style and then make a decision to use me or not.

"At this point, I had just left my lovely comfortablejob at Cadbury's!"

I was training their sales and merchandising people and success on this demo meant I got started on my dream to inspire and help people develop their soft skills. I was so close to bottling it and going home thinking I would look for another job, but something drove me in and, of course, I got the job ... and the rest is history.

I am driven by inspiring people to work on themselves. I believe that's my purpose and even after all these years, I love it. I enjoy the whole process of partnering with clients and putting together a workshop just for them.

"My job is creative, challenging andextremely varied!"

I have been privileged to travel all over the world with Dramatic Training Solutions. I've visited over 45 different countries working with different cultures and in different businesses. I feel I have learned more from the learners and my customers than they have from me, and for that, I will always be grateful.

The best way to describe what we do is to liken us to virtual reality, but without the headset; we are a simulator for soft skills.

If you got on a plane to fly off on holiday and the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls welcome aboard, this is the first time I have ever flown this plane, but don't worry I am a very experienced pilot so I'm sure I can pick it up as we go along", would you stay on the plane?

Of course, that doesn't happen. New and even experienced pilots go into a simulator to practice, crash and burn as many times as they need to build their confidence and that's what we do too.

We give learners a safe place to perfect what they do, whether it's an awkward conversation, a presentation to the board or a sales interaction, they can build their confidence and learn from experience.

This type of learning is powerful, life-changing and it sticks!

Working with our actors is a real joy. They are creative people and have huge talent. Over the years we have worked together to perfect the art of experiential workshops.

Using forum theatre, consequential theatre, simulations, and demonstrations we are always coming up with new and exciting ways to train learners that are challenging, realistic, practical, fun and linked to our customers' key objectives.

We are moving into an age of technology, AI and robots, so empathy, communication and self-awareness are going to be essential to business. These so-called 'soft skills' are among the hardest to perfect so we like to call them 'conscious human skills' instead.

It takes hard work to be a conscious human. We can all be guilty of acting like a 'human robot' and with access to technology threatening to diminish our communication skills and ability to connect authentically, we will have a more significant part to play in inspiring behavioural change.

In the next few months, I will be writing about the key skills that individuals will need to survive in this '4th industrial revolution' and how to prepare yourselves and your employees for the future.

"Would you like to know more?"

If you'd like to find out more about Dramatic Training Solutions and learn about training that sticks, then do give me a call on 01908 511 062 or click here to ping me an email and let's see how I can help you.

Until next time ...

DEBRA STEVENS

PS:

With 90% of training being lost without practice, why waste your money on training that doesn't stick? Visit www.dramatictrainingsolutions.com to see discover how we can help!

I'm the founder of DTS, which was established in 1996. A highly successful experiential training company specialising in facilitating behavioural change in all aspects of dealings with people, whether in customer service, sales, management or with colleagues and teammates.

I've managed large contracts such as Pearson Education, Coca Cola, Penguin Books, Accenture, and Santander for over 21 years and have built up excellent relationships with key sponsors of all aspects of the businesses.

I'm a successful trainer, writer and speaker with nearly 30 years’ experience of training people at all levels.

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